Site Mobile Navigation

Rangel Seeks to Minimize Any Concern About Age

Representative Charles B. Rangel at his 82nd birthday party last week. His age and health are issues in his re-election campaign.Credit
Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Congressman Charles B. Rangel was celebrating his 82nd birthday, but he appeared eager not to look like an old man.

So, after sitting through a long series of tributes at a fund-raiser last week, Mr. Rangel stood up and, as the R & B singer Chuck Jackson sang from backstage, entertained the crowd by lip-syncing, sashaying and swaying his hips.

It was a sight that would have been unimaginable only weeks ago, when Mr. Rangel, after a spinal viral infection, had to use a walker to get himself to campaign appearances as he sought a 22nd term.

Still, even at his birthday party, his vigor had its limits. There would be no working the room to press the flesh of his supporters. Instead, before the speeches, he installed himself at a table between former Mayor Edward I. Koch, 87, and the former Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, 92. Well-wishers came over and leaned down to greet them — three icons of New York City history.

The issues of Mr. Rangel’s age and long tenure have hovered over his re-election bid.

Among the four challengers he is facing Tuesday in the Democratic primary, the oldest of them, Joyce Johnson, a former liquor company executive, is two decades his junior, while the youngest, Craig Schley, a former model, is only 48. Clyde Williams, a onetime aide to former President Bill Clinton, is 50. State Senator Adriano Espaillat, whom many consider Mr. Rangel’s most formidable rival, is 57.

To Mr. Rangel’s friends, his four decades’ worth of relationships in Congress are an asset that his rivals cannot match, and they guarantee a flow of federal funds to the district.

“Seniority, seniority, seniority matters,” Inez Dickens, a city councilwoman from Harlem and one of Mr. Rangel’s most passionate backers, said at the birthday party.

“When I went to the City Council as a freshman,” she added, to underline her point, “they didn’t tell me where the bathroom was!”

But to Mr. Rangel’s challengers, 42 years is long enough.

“It is time for a change” has been the campaign mantra of Mr. Espaillat, who once noted that when Mr. Rangel was first elected, man had only recently walked on the moon, “Joe Namath was throwing touchdown passes for the Jets, and Nixon was president.”

Mr. Espaillat has argued that new leadership is needed not only to bring new energy, but also to reflect how the demographics of the district have changed, through waves of immigration as well as redistricting. Once a center of black political power, the district is now majority Latino, and extends from East Harlem to the northwest Bronx. Mr. Espaillat, who was born in the Dominican Republic, would be the first Dominican-American congressman, a fact that has excited many of his backers.

Photo

Mr. Rangel with former Mayor Edward I. Koch, and the former Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, at his party. Mr. Koch said he thought this would be Mr. Rangel’s last race.Credit
Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Basil A. Smikle Jr., a political consultant who is not working for any of the candidates, said that Mr. Rangel was typical of his generation of Harlem leaders in being reluctant to relinquish power.

“I don’t think the older generation was very good at leaving — at perpetuating their legacy through a younger generation,” Mr. Smikle said of Mr. Rangel and his peers.

He said that the dramatic changes in Harlem in recent years — wealthy professionals have moved in, real estate prices have skyrocketed and fancy new stores and restaurants have opened — have sometimes exacerbated the tension between older residents, some of whom fought the battles of the civil rights movement, and a younger generation who reaped the benefits of their fights.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

David Wasserman, an editor of The Cook Political Report, a publication that analyzes elections and campaigns, said that Mr. Rangel’s recent health problems had made his age a more significant factor in the race.

“His age would be less of an issue if there were not questions about his health, as well, and the question of whether he’s up to the job,” Mr. Wasserman said, adding that Mr. Rangel “hasn’t been able to run the full-schedule campaign that he might have been able to in years past.”

He noted that Mr. Rangel had often tried to make light of his age in recent years, joking, for instance, that he does not buy green bananas.

Mr. Rangel, however, still enjoys considerable support, both in New York City and from his colleagues in Washington, many of whom have contributed to his campaign. On Friday, Mr. Rangel will be endorsed by several Latino leaders, including Representative Luis V. Gutierrez of Chicago.

For some of Mr. Rangel’s supporters, the issue is not so much when he should retire, but whether he will be forced to. They want it to be his decision.

Mr. Koch, who was defeated in a bid for a fourth term as mayor, said that most politicians do not know when to leave the stage, calling that failing “regrettable, but understandable.”

In Mr. Rangel’s case, Mr. Koch said he thought this would probably be his last campaign, but added, “I want him to leave on his own and not be pushed out.”

Asked why he thought this would be Mr. Rangel’s last campaign, Mr. Koch said, “He’s tired, and I believe that the attacks upon him have taken their toll.” Although Mr. Rangel has not shared his plans with him, Mr. Koch said, “instinctively, I believe that this is his last hurrah, and I want him to go out proud.”

A version of this article appears in print on June 22, 2012, on Page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: Rangel Seeks To Minimize Any Concern About Age. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe